LESLIE: Ann in New Jersey listens to The Money Pit on WCTC. What can we do for you today?
ANN: Well, I was wondering if I put an addition on top of the garage – I live in a – my house is a split level.
TOM: OK.
ANN: I was told that I could go out the top from the garage because the roof is – has had a peak at that area. And – as opposed to the other side where it’s coming down flat, you know, (INAUDIBLE) – it’s not a peak anyway. What would be the cost of – what should I look at for the cost of putting that addition in there?
TOM: Well, adding an addition where you’re going on top of the existing single-story garage is, you know, going to be less expensive than if you were going out from the house and including a foundation. What you essentially are going to end up doing is removing all of the ceiling joists and all of the roof rafter framing and leaving just the walls of the garage. The first design challenge is how are you going to support that new floor system. You may need to run a girder through the garage to be able to do that. So that’s probably the one design challenge. And then, after that, it’s simply a matter of adding floor joists and building it up from there.
It’s not a do-it-yourself project but I will tell you that it’s going to be less expensive than going out. If you had the option to go up or go out, you’re going to spend less money going up than you would going out and adding to your house in that way. And you’re going to add the same number of square feet. I would definitely take the least expensive option.
LESLIE: And Ann, you shouldn’t have any problems with zoning because you’re staying within the same footprint of the house. You’re not extending any where and creating new foundation. So you shouldn’t have any problems with zoning, but always check with your local zoning laws just to make sure.
Leave a Reply